My recent reading: 2015

My Recent Reading: 44 books in 2015

Date	Book Title	Author	Notes / Rating
28th December 2015	The Santa Klaus Murder	Mavis Dorial Hay	4 stars
26th December 2015	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Illustrated Edition	J K Rowling	5 stars
15th December 2015	The Broken Window	Jeffery Deaver	5 stars
8th December 2015	A Christmas Cracker	Trisha Ashley	5 stars
December 2015	Live & Let Bee The Visitor’s Book Model for Murder Hats off to Murder One for the Rook	Dawn Nelson	5 stars
20th November 2015	The Martian	Andy Weir	5 stars
18th October 2015	The Hogs Back Mystery	Freeman Wills Crofts	3 stars
12th October 2015	Rubicon	Steven Saylor	4 stars
5th October 2015	And Then There Were None	Agatha Christie	5 stars
1st October 2015	The Taxidermists Daughter	Kate Moss	5 stars
14th Sept 2015	Moon Over Soho	Ben Aaronovitch	4 stars
11th Sept	A is for Arsenic	Kathryn Harkup	5 stars
7th Sept 2015	River of London	Ben Aaronovitch	5 starts
1st Sept 2015	The ABC Murders	Agatha Christie	5 stars
31st Aug 2015	Murder on the Orient Express	Agatha Christie	5 stars
	The Last Praetorian (The Redemption Trilogy Book 1)	Mike Smith	5 stars
	Road Shandra	Ken Lozito	4 stars
	Murder in Steeple Martin	Lesley Cookman	5 stars
14th July 2015	The Return of Sherlock Holmes	Arthur Conan Doyle	5 stars
6th July 2015	Sanctus	Simon Toyne	5 stars
22nd June 2015	A Murder is Announced	Agatha Christie	5 stars
9th June 2015	Desert Gold	Wilber Smith	4 stars
5th June 2015 3rd June 2015 1st June 2015	The Death Cure (Book 3 in The Maze Runner series) The Scorch Trails (Book 2 in the Maze Runner series) Maze Runner	James Dasher	3 stars 3 stars 5 stars
22nd May 2015	The Golden Age of Murder	Martin Edwards	5 stars
22nd May 2015	A Seaside Affair	Fern Britton	2 stars
18th May 2015	The Agatha Christie Companion (Reference book)	Denis Sanders	3 stars
	The Murder of Roger Ackroyd	Agatha Christie	5 stars
16th May 2015	The Bootlegger	Clive Cussler	4 stars
9th May 2015	The Rome Express	Arthur Griffith	3 stars
2nd May 2015	How to be Good	Nick Hornby	3 stars
23rd April 2015	The Mysterious World of Agatha Christie (Reference book)	Jeffrey Feinman	3 stars
16th April 2015	Endless Night	Agatha Christie	5 stars
11th April 2015	The Meaning of Night	Michael Cox	4 stars
	The Detection Collection (short stories)	The Detection Club	3 stars
1st April 2015	The Mystery of Edwin Drood	Charles Dickens	5 stars
17th March	Five Little Pigs	Agatha Christie	5 stars
2nd March 2015	The Skin Collector	Jeffery Deaver	5 stars
25th February 2015	Deep Crossing	E. R. Mason	5 stars
11th February 2015	The Hanging in the Hotel	Simon Brett	4 stars
3rd February 2015	Soldier of Fortune	Edward Marston	4 stars
26th January 2015	The Lake District Murder	John Bude	3 stars
8th January 2015	Spiders Web	Agatha Christie	5 stars

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Review of the novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie.

Published by Harper Collins on 10^th June 1926.

Cost: 3ꞌ6 1963 [£7.99]

ISBN 1473-0022 (Paperback Edition - 254 pages)

I have read this novel a number of times, and as it has been discussed a number of times recently in the media, in this Agatha Christie's 125^th centenary year, it seems right to review it now.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a typical Christie story, set in an English village, described by the story’s narrator, Doctor Sheppard, at the start of Chapter 2: 

King’s Abbot, is, I imagine, very much like any other village. Our big town is Cranchester, nine miles away. We have a large railway station, a small post office, and two rival “General Stores”. Able-bodied men are apt to leave the place early in life, but we are rich in unmarried ladies and retired military officers. Our hobbies and recreations can be summed up in the one word, “gossip”.

The majority of the story takes place at Fernly Park the home of Roger Ackroyd. As we might expect, Christie has designed her plot well, and in this story it’s woven around the death of two individuals. In the first instance, the apparent suicide of a wealthy Lady called Mrs Ferrars; the manner of death is confirmed by Doctor Sheppard. Having lost her husband almost 12 months previously, it was expected that she would marry the wealthy widower, Roger Ackroyd, but her suicide is unexpected and she posts a letter to Ackroyd on the eve of her death. Sheppard dines with Ackroyd at his house when the letter is discussed, but leaves without knowing its full contents. Later, following a phone call to the surgery, Sheppard returns to Fernly Park at 10 p.m. to find that Ackroyd has been stabbed in the neck. Immediately the residents of the house become suspects, each one having a motive of one sort or another: the housekeeper Miss Russell, Major Blunt a big-game hunter, Mrs Cecile Ackroyd a widowed sister-in-law and her daughter Flora, Parker the butler, Geoffrey Raymond the young secretary of Ackroyd and finally, Ralph Paton the adopted son – there are also the servants in the house, which are questioned as part of the investigation. To assist the reader, we are given two maps; one of the grounds of Fernly Park, and the other is the layout of the study where Roger Ackroyd’s murder takes place. I’m not sure if either of the maps assist the reader, apart from the fact that the placement of one of the chairs in the study is queried.

It is not until Chapter 3 that we discover that Hercule Poirot has settled down to a life in the country for almost a year and lives next door to Doctor Sheppard and his sister Caroline.  However, it is not until Chapter 7 that Poirot is approached by Flora Ackroyd to investigate the case, and he agrees with the request that Sheppard assists him in his investigation.

Depending on who you listen to, this story is either Agatha Christie’s masterpiece from which her fame stems or others, that feel she did not stick to the accepted rules of detective fiction, ‘she has deceived her readers’. The debate hangs on the fact that Doctor Sheppard is the narrator of the story.

Most writers of Detective Fiction feel that there are rules that should be followed when writing detective stories and the guidelines set out by the The Detection Club in 1930 are often quoted, for example, in this case the rules to adhere to would be:

Rule 1. The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

Rule 7. The detective must not himself commit the crime.

Rule 9. The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be very slightly below that of the average reader.

However, this story was published in 1926, so there were no rules governing detective writers of the period, it was a case of entertain your readers to make sure enough copies are sold to allow you to continue writing. It was rather a time of distract your readers with Red Herrings and misleading suggestions while your murderer tries to disguise his actions with misdirection.

In this story, Christie introduces a character that she was to go on and develop further; she writes in her Autobiography:

“I think that it is possible that Miss Marple arose from the pleasure I had taken in portraying Dr. Sheppard’s sister in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. She had been my favourite character in the book – an acidulated spinster, full of curiosity, knowing everything, hearing everything; the complete detective service in the home.”

One instance of the pleasure may be revealed in Chapter 16, where Doctor Sheppard and his sister Caroline hold a Mah Jong party, in attendance are Miss Gannett and Colonel Carter. During the game, Caroline reveals her thoughts on possible aspects of the investigation, as expected, based on local gossip:

"That Miss Russell,” said Caroline. “She came here pretending to consult James on Friday morning. It’s my opinion she wanted to see where poisons were kept.”

“My idea about Ralph Paton, I mean.” … “It seems quite clear by now that he didn’t get away from here by train. He must simply have walked into Cranchester. And I believe he’s there still. No one would dream of his being so near at hand.”

“… But there’s one thing I do tell you, James Sheppard. Flora Ackroyd does not care a penny for Ralph Paton, and never has. You can take it from me.”

Caroline is proved right in each instance!

As much as I love the character of Caroline I find I question one point, that of her not being aware of her next door neighbour, Hercule Poirot, who has been living at The Larches for almost a year.

The reader follows Poirot round the village, as he teams up with the policeman assigned to the case, an Inspector Raglan, who as we might expect, questions Poirot’s investigation methods. Poirot persuades Sheppard to assist him, (making him is Watson), and he makes full use of his role of the local doctor, to meet and speak to the suspects, then unravelling the issues as they are reported back to him. The reader can enjoy the odd Belgium phrase and the reminder of the physiological approach used by Poirot, as he uses his 'little grey cells' to unravel the truth of the crime.

Christie throws out strong suggestions as to the name of the murderer to the reader and they are either welcomed with relish, or missed in the fact that they are so enthralled with the story. One such hint is in Chapter 20; Poirot calls unexpectedly on Sheppard, and in an irritable moment, he invites Poirot into his workshop!

In Chapter 23, titled ‘Poirot’s Little Reunion’, the reader gets what they have now come to expect. Poirot gathers all the possible suspects together to declare his findings. He reads from a list he has prepared, the names of the suspected persons. As Poirot challenges those present to speak of their guilt, Christie brings together all the clues that the reader should have spotted, with one exception! But Christie changes tack, and Chapter 24 finishes with a statement from Poirot:

“Messieurs et Mesdames, this reunion of mine is at an end. Remember - the truth goes to Inspector Raglan in the morning.”

Once his suspects have left, Poirot discusses the investigation with Sheppard, and in the closing words of Chapter 25 on page 247 reveals the name of the murderer. That leaves only six pages for the murderer explain his actions. Sheppard discloses that he has been recording the progress of the investigation, and presents Poirot with a manuscript. At 5 a.m. the following morning an update on the manuscript is completed, filling in the missing gaps, but it is only a recap for the reader that has been misled. The murderer opts to take the poison veronal and wishes Poirot had never retired to grow vegetable marrows in the village of King’s Abbot.

I really have enjoyed reading the story again. This story must be considered Agatha Christie’s masterpiece, it was so well received it gave her the encouragement to continue writing and giving her readers so much pleasure. Rating: 5 stars

Dr James Sheppard

25th May 2015

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

Endless Night

Review of the novel Endless Night by Agatha Christie.

Published by Harper Collins in 30^th October 1967.

Cost: 60p [£7.99]

ISBN N/A (Paperback Edition - 191 pages)

I read this novel some time ago and returned to read it again as it was on the recommended reading list for a conference at Exeter University titled: Agatha Christie: Hidden Horizons.

The title of the book is taken from a William Blake poem: Auguries of Innocence, Lines 119 – 124

Every Night and every Morn

Some to Misery are born.

Every Morn and every Night

Some are born to Sweet Delight,

Some are born to Sweet Delight,

Some are born to Endless Night.

The poem begins with a rhyme that suggests how children might see the world, then illustrates how human cruelty towards nature has consequences that although they may not be seen immediately, they will nevertheless prove catastrophic.

The story is narrated by a young and ambitious Michael Rogers, who falls in love with Ellie (Fenella) Guteman, the first time he sets eyes on her in the mysterious yet scenic 'Gipsy's Acre', complete with its sea-view and dark fir trees. Before long, he has both the house and the woman, however, rumours spread of a curse hanging over the property. Not heeding the locals' warnings, the couple take up residence at 'Gipsy's Acre', which results in a devastating tragedy.

The story has a plot that Christie has used in other stories (e.g. The Case of the Caretaker) to great effect, however, she was aged 77 when she wrote this story and the young couple are in their early twenties, I am not convinced that the early part of the story, prior to their marriage, flows smoothly. The story has a lot of conversational episodes and the young couple argue and it is not enjoyable to read. However, once Michael and Ellie are on their honeymoon, the writing style of Christie become fluent and enjoyable - although the story gets darker. Ellie is judged to be one of the wealthiest women in the world, and Christie convinces the reader that the desire for control of the money is not of interest to Michael, but Ellie’s relatives believe otherwise and it's this conflict that the story revolves around; is Christie telling the truth or is she deceiving her reader.

It is impossible to say much about the story without giving away vital secrets, but for much of the story we are led to believe that the relationship between the young couple is that of sheer unadulterated romance, but the reader is mistaken, for the horrific suspense at the end of the story is perhaps the most devastating that Christie has ever brought off. Six pages from the end of the book, Michael explains his actions and sets about writing a statement for the police. It’s a masterpiece by Christie that has the reader believing in romance of a young couple that have the rest of their lives ahead of them. I have enjoyed reading the story again; it’s a true Agatha Christie 'whodunit'. Rating: 5 stars

Dr James Sheppard

23rd April 2015

The International Agatha Christie Festival 2015

The International Agatha Christie Festival 2015 

Friday 11^th September to Saturday 19^th September

The festival programme is being organised by Dr Anna Farthing, who co-ordinates the programme for the festival on a part-time basis, out of the Grand Hotel in Torquay. The Board in charge of the Festival comprises of Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie Ltd, Harper Collins, Torbay Council, English Riviera Tourism Company, a Financial Director and a Lawyer. This year's Festival has been tasked to encourage economic growth and tourism in Torbay.

The Theme of the Festival is: Agatha Christie - Life, Literature and Legacy, which would be explored via Creative Writing, Literature, Theatre, Film & Radio, Archive Heritage with a tie-in with the RNIB, Children and Family events, Food and Garden events and a celebration of what would have been Agatha's 125th Birthday.

The full programme can be found on The International Agatha Christie Festival website http://www.agathachristiefestival.com/ 

There will be a Murder Mystery on the Paignton Steam Railway  http://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/.../murder-mystery... and Burgh Island Hotel at planning to have their usual Agatha Christie lunch. Tuesday 15th September £68

Festival tickets will be available via the Eventbrite the on-line booking system, it's a bit long-winded as you are only able to purchases one event ticket at a time, but straight forward. 

The Official Festival Programme (See the official website)

Date	Day	Activity	Time	Cost
		Viva! Vibrant images vibrant artists		£        -
		And Then There Was Art	10.00 - 4.30	£        -
11.09.15	Friday	Vintage Festival Launch Party	7.00 - 10.00	£   25.00
12.09.15	Saturday	Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs		£        -
		Dan Metcalf and The Lottie Lipton Adventures	10.00 - 10.45	£     5.00
		Oddicombe Beach - Man Overboard Mystery	10.00 - 4.00	£     2.00
		John Curran Talk: Christie Through The Decades	11.00 - 12.00	£   10.00
		Ali Sparks: Car-Jacked	11.00 - 12.00	£     5.00
		Bonnie MacBird writes Sherlock Holmes	12.15 - 1.15	£     5.00
		Lunch and Listen with today's authors	1.30 - 2.00	£        -
		Heartbreak Productions presents Mr Stink by David Walliams	3.00 - 5.00	£   12.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		John Curran's Mystery Film Night	7.30 - 9.30	£   10.00
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
13.09.15	Sunday	Walk the Agatha Christie Mile: Frank Turner.	10.00 - 11.00
		Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30	£        -
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs
		Vintage Fair	11.00 - 4.30	£     5.00
		Agatha, Archie & The Grand Hotel	11.00 - 12.30	£   10.00
		Kate Adie on Agatha & the First World War	2.30 - 3.30	£   15.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Talking Books: A gala Event marking 80 years of service	7.30 - 9.00	£   15.00
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
14.09.15	Monday	Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30	£        -
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs
		Walk the Agatha Christie Mile: Frank Turner.	10.00 - 12.30	£     5.00
		Garden Tour: Dispensing Murder with Ali Marshall the Head Gardener	10.45 - 11.45	£     6.00
		Sophie Hannah: A Game for all the family	11.00 - 12.00	£   10.00
		Kathryn Harkup: A is for Arsenic	12.15 - 1.00	£   10.00
		Murder, Margaret & Me	2.30 - 3.45	£   12.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Creative Writing Workshop	6.00 - 7.00	£        -
		MP Wright: Marple through music	5.00 - 6.00	£   10.00
		And Then There Were None	7.30 - 10.00	£
		Murder, Margaret & Me	7.30 - 8.45	£   12.00
		The Hollow, performed by Bijou Theatre Company	7.30 - 9.30	£   12.00
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
15.09.15	Tuesday	Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs		£        -
		Workshop for Writers	10.30 - 11.30	£        -
		Walk the Agatha Christie Mile: Frank Turner.	10.00 - 12.30	£     5.00
		Agatha Christie: Literary Daughter of South Devon	11.0 - 12.00	£   10.00
		125th Birthday: Garden Party Luncheon	12.30 - 3.00	£   30.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Agatha Christie and the BBC: Reaching New Audiences	6.00 - 8.00	£     8.00
		And Then There Were None	7.30 - 10.00	£
		The Hollow, performed by Bijou Theatre Company	7.30 - 9.30	£   12.00
		125th Birthday: Evening Celebration	9.00 - 10.00
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
16.09.15	Wednesday	Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30	£        -
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs		£        -
		And Then There Were … How Many?	10.00 - 11.00	£   10.00
		Walk the Agatha Christie Mile: Frank Turner.	10.00 - 12.30	£     5.00
		Workshop for Writers	10.30 - 11.30	£        -
		Crème & Chatiments: The Delicious and Criminal Recipes of Agatha Christie	11.00 - 1.00	£   25.00
		Garden Tour: Dispensing Murder with Ali Marshall the Head Gardener	10.45 - 11.45	£     6.00
		Martin Edwards: The Golden Age of Murder	12.00 - 1.00	£     8.00
		The Imperial Terrace: Afternoon Tea & Jazz	2.00 - 4.00	£   16.95
		David Brawn: Publishing Christie and Poirot Little Grey Cells	2.30 - 3.30	£     8.00
		And Then There Were None	2.30 - 5.00	£   12.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		British Library: Publishing Golden Age Detective Fiction	5.00 - 6.00	£   10.00
		Twilight Tours and Readings of Editions	6.00 - 9.00
		The Hollow, performed by Bijou Theatre Company	7.30 - 9.30	£   12.00
		And Then There Were None	7.30 - 10.00	£
		Nigel Wollen: Wills and Codicils	7.30 - 9.00	£   10.00
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
17.09.15	Thursday	Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30	£        -
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs		£        -
		Walk the Agatha Christie Mile: Frank Turner.	10.00 - 12.30	£     5.00
		And Then There Was Art	10.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Workshop for Writers	10.30 - 11.30	£        -
		Garden Tour: Dispensing Murder with Ali Marshall the Head Gardener	10.45 - 11.45	£     6.00
		Crème & Chatiments: The Delicious and Criminal Recipes of Agatha Christie	11.00 - 1.00	£   25.00
		Les Petitis Meurtres D'Agatha Christie	1.00 - 12.30	£     7.00
		Sparkling Tea Dance	2.30 - 4.30	£   15.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Die Abenteuer G.m.b.H (1929): Tommy and Tuppence for the silent screen	5.00 - 7.00
		And Then There Were None	7.30 - 10.00	£
		Drama Workshop: Consonants! Speak your Christi Crisply Crispin …	7.30 - 9.00
		The Hollow, performed by Bijou Theatre Company	7.30 - 9.30	£   12.00
		John Curran's Literary Dinner	8.00 - 10.30
		Words for Voices	8.00 - 10.00	£   10.00
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
18.09.15	Friday	Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30	£        -
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs		£        -
		Walk the Agatha Christie Mile: Frank Turner.	10.00 - 12.30	£     5.00
		Workshop for Writers	10.30 - 11.30	£        -
		Garden Tour: Dispensing Murder with Ali Marshall the Head Gardener	10.45 - 11.45	£     6.00
		Uncovered, The Art of Agatha Christie & Beyond with Tom Adams & John Curran	11.00 - 12.00	£   10.00
		Educational Afternoon at Torre Abbey with Dee	2.00 - 5.00	£        -
		Julius Green: Curtain Up	2.30 - 3.30	£   10.00
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Murder Mystery: A Dark Night at the Abbey	7.00 - 10.00	£   50.00
		And Then There Were None	7.30 - 10.00	£
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
19.09.15	Saturday	Reading: Starter at 10	10.00 - 10.30	£        -
		Dan Metcalf reads The Lottie Lipton Adventures	10.00 - 12.00	£        -
		Following in her Footsteps: Meet the Killer Women	11.00 - 12.00	£   10.00
		Bludgeoned with a gun, poisoned with a pen	2.00 - 3.30	£     8.00
		And Then There Were None	2.30 - 5.00	£
		Reading: Everything Stops for Tea	4.00 - 4.30	£        -
		Britcrime: The world's first free on-line crime fiction festival	4.30 - 5.30	£   10.00
		The Greenway Ball	7.00 - 11.00	£  115.00
		Margaret Rutherford Plays Miss Marple In …	7.30 - 9.00	£   10.00
		And Then There Were None	7.30 - 10.00	£
		Lounging at The Grand	9.00 - 11.30	£        -
20.09.15	Sunday	Die Hards Brunch	11.00 - 1.00	£   17.00
		Agatha Christie: Unfinished Portrait - A Life in Photographs		£        -

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Review of the novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

Published by Chapman & Hall in 1870. (BBC Books 2012)

Cost: £7.99

ISBN 978-1-84-990427-8 (Paperback Edition – 279 pages)

Charles Dickens is a favourite author of mine, but talking to a friend I realised that I had not read this story - perhaps because it was an unfinished story. As with many of Dickens’ stories they were written in instalments, being published monthly – (in this instance, instalment 1 in April 1870, chapters 1-5 and instalment 6 in September 1870, chapters 21-23) – only the first six of the twelve planned instalments were published; so it’s an unfinished story. Since the death of Dickens, a number of authors have tried to write the final chapters, based on the development of the characters in the early chapters.

The book I have reviewed has an Afterword by screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes who was asked by the BBC to write a possible ending to the story that they wanted to make into a TV programme (January 2012). Hughes Afterword is just over four pages long, with ideas drawn from the published chapters, she presents an interesting ending to the tale. The Mystery of Edwin Drood story has also been performed as a musical comedy: in an adaptation by Rupert Holmes the play pauses to let the audience vote on how the play should end, selecting from a choice of alternate endings.

Dickens opens the novel with an introduction to one of the main characters of the story, John Jasper, the choirmaster of Cloisterham Cathedral, Edwin Drood’s uncle and guardian. We find him in an opium den in East part of London. Dickens describes the scene in detail so that the reader is in no doubt of the effects of smoking the drug; Jasper passes out in his effort to leave the building.

The story turns to the activities in the fictitious Cathedral town of Cloisterham. Here the reader is introduced to Edwin Drood and the young girl he is engaged to, Miss Rosa Bud; their engagement planned by their deceased parents. However, Rosa has a number of admirers. When discussing his relationship with his friend Neville Landless, they have a bitter argument, giving rise to John Jasper spreading rumours about Neville’s violent temper. When Edwin and Rosa next meet they agree to end their betrothal. A few days later, on Christmas Eve, there is a storm, and it is the last time Edwin Drood is seen. He is believed to have been murdered, a story spread by John Jasper, with the ulterior motive of his desire for the love of Rosa. This is the beginnings of the murder mystery set out by Dickens.

In The Mystery of Edwin Drood, we are taken into the world of Dickens, his beautiful descriptions, of locations and characters. When I read Chapter XI, it was so enjoyable I stopped to read it again:

‘Behind the most ancient part of Holborn, London, where certain gabled houses some centuries of age still stand looking on the public way, as if disconsolately looking for the Old Bourne that has a long run dry, is a little nook composed of two irregular quadrangles, called Staple Inn.’

Here we find Mr Grewgious, a solicitor, in his chambers. This afternoon he sits by his fire, and so does his clerk Bazzard. We know we are reading Dickens as he describes Bazzard:

‘A pale, puffy-faced, dark-haired person of thirty, with big dark eyes that wholly wanted lustre, and a dissatisfied doughy complexion, that seemed to ask to be sent to the baker’s, this attendant was a mysterious being. … A gloomy person with tangled locks and a general air of having been reared under the shadow of that baleful tree of Java which has given shelter to more lies than the whole botanical kingdom.’

It’s a wonderful description of the subservient employee. Dickens continues in this style when Edwin Drood arrives:

‘Edwin took the easy-chair in the corner; and the fog he had brought with him, and the fog he took off with his greatcoat and neck-shawl, was speedily licked up by the fire.’

The reader is left in no doubt how the smog and fog of London clung to its inhabitants. As we might expect in this story, Dickens introduces us to some wonderful characters, but as we only know of them in a story that was not finished, I would have expected them to have been developed further, particularly the main characters.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood has the makings of a great story, but it is only half finished, so unless we read the chapters finished by other authors, we are left wanting more. I am a great fan of Dickens work and I would have loved to have read his descriptions of Christmas and the tales of difficult times for his characters in the period of this story. Rating 4 stars.

Dr James Sheppard

31 March 2015